Rope-clamp



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1..

O. E. DUBOIS. ROPEOLAMP.

No. 558,049. Patented Apr. 14,1896.

(No Model.) 2. SheetsSheet 2.

OPE. DUBOIS.

, ROPE CLAMP.

No. 558,049. Patented Apr. 14, 1896.

. may, if desired, have a cleat-like arm (I.

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OTIS E. DUBOIS, OF FALL RIVER, MASSACHUSETTS.

RO PE-C LAM P.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 558,049, dated April 14, 1896.

Application filed May 22,1895. Serial No. 550,245. (No model.)

T0 at whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, OTIS E. DUBOIs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Fall River, in the county of Bristol and State of Massachusetts,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rope-Clamps; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to rope-clamps, and especially to those which have a cam action, so as to tighten automatically when the rope is subjected to strain.

' The object of the invention is to improve the construction and enable the clamp to be opened so as to release the rope without requiring the tension to be slackened. This is often desirable when the rope gets jammed in a block or for some other reason it becomes impossible to take up or slacken enough rope to enable the clamp to be loosened in the usual manner.

The clamp is provided with a fixed or stationary abutment and a clamping cam or eccentric suitably pivoted adjacent thereto, so as to engage with and hold a rope when pulled through between these parts in one direction, but to release it when pulled in the other direction. The cam is preferably forced by a spring toward the abutment and has a tailpiece or lever, by which it can be withdrawn at will against the tension of the spring.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a clamp embodying my improvements. Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view thereof. Fig. 3 is a similar View showing the clamp open. Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view showing the spring, Fig. 5 is an edge view of the cam. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a modification. Fig. 7 is a sectional plan thereof, and Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the cam.

The clamp has a base-plate A, on which is secured the stationary abutment B, which may have projecting arms I) to confine the rope. Near this abutment is pivoted the cam 0, covered by a plate or housing D, whiph T 1e working edge of the cam is of such a shape as to give the best clamping eifect. It may be long to correspond with a complementary abutment, as in Fig. 2, or circular, as in Fig. 7. In any case it is hollowed somewhat to conform with the shape of the rope and is provided with teeth, such as serrations c, which may be armed with metal, if desired, when the clamp is made of wood, by inserting' metal plates 0 radially or thereabout to the edge of the cam and coinciding with the vertical faces of the serrations c.

h In the case of long cams, as Fig. 2, I prefer to connect them pivotally with the baseplate by means of two links E F, hinged at one end'to the cam by pins cf and at the other end to the base-plate by pintles e f. This construction gives the cam a parallel ruler movement toward and away from the abutment B. One of the pins, as 6, projects down through a slot a in the base-plate into a recess a in the under side thereof, in which is housed a spring G, bearing against the pin a and acting to force the cam toward the abutment.

In order to operate the cam positively, one of the links, as F, has an extension or tailpiece f projecting out beyond the housing. By means of this the cam can be withdrawn from the abutment when desired. If it is stuck or clogged, a lever H can be inserted into holes f in the tailpiece f The cam is preferably hollowed, so as to 111- close the links partially. The modification shown in Figs. 6, 7, and 8 has a circularedged cam provided with metal-faced. serrations and pivoted on the pin 13 In the cam is a slot to receive the helical spring K, one end of which seats against the end of the slot and the other end against the flattened post L, passing through the plate D and the slot into the base-plate.

The cam has a tailpiece 0 which is held by the spring against a block cl, forming one of the supports for the housing-plate D. By pressing the tailpiece away from the block the cam is moved away from the abutment and the rope is released.

Having thus described my invention,what I claim, and desire to secure by LettersPatent, is-- 1. A rope-clamp having its clamping-cam provided with serrations, and metallic plates inserted radially or thereabout and coincident with the vertical faces of said serrations, substantially as described.

2. In a rope-clamp, the combination with a base-plate having a recess in its under side, and a slot communicating therewith, of a clamping-cam connected with said base-plate by parallel links, the hinge-pins of which extend down into the recess, and a fiat spring engaging with said hinge-pins to actuate the cam, substantially as described.

3. In a rope-clamp, the combination with the base-plate, abutment and clamping-cam, of two links' hinged at one end to the cam and at the other end to the base-plate, a spring acting to force the cam toward the abutment,

OTIS E. DUBOIS.

Witnesses:

AREA N. LINCOLN, CHARLES L. FoorE. 

